Chronos has updated StickyBrain, its personal productivity application, to 1.3.1, the first full update of the software since version 1.2.1was released in April. And the bald lady is gone — but more on that in a moment.
StickyBrain incorporates a “sticky note” interface and can store any type of information including text, pictures, sounds, file/application links, contacts, web and e-mail addresses, and more. The update also enhances the operation of several key features. The Find function now searches the title of a sticky in addition to the sticky text itself. The built-in spell checker now correctly handles phrases with words joined by hyphens, en- and em- dashes, etc. Overall, application launch speed has also been improved, especially when a lot of stickies must be opened.
StickyBrain also has HotKeys, which are designed to make it easy to transfer information to and from other applications. For example, if users are surfing the Web and come across an interesting article, they can press a special key combination and the article will be saved as a “sticky” even if StickyBrain isn’t running. HotKeys can also be assigned to individual stickies so the text from the sticky can be pasted into other.
StickyBrain also has password management features. The folks at Chronos say that you can go to any Web site and the software will instantly retrieve the user name and password associated with that Web address.
Version 1.3.1 includes a number of bug fixes and other improvements. The most visible change is the “spokesmodel” for the software who appears in everything from the program icon to dialog boxes. Gone is the bald, blue, futuristic-looking cyberchick of previous versions. She’s been canned and replaced with an intelligent, attractive blond woman who, according to Robert McCullough at Chronos, “shouldn’t creep anyone out.”
What’s more, the Mac OS X version of StickyBrain now comes as a true Mac OS X package, complete with a scalable program icon for the Dock, he added. Other improvements include commands for inserting calendars into sticky notes and the ability to display any type of picture as the background of a sticky note.
StickyBrain is currently available both as a Carbon application for Mac OS X and as a classic application for Mac OS 8.1 or later. The 1.3.1 update is available as a free download from the Chronos Web site, where you can also obtain a demo version. The online purchase price for StickyBrain is US $34.99.